William p



(N0 Mbdel.)

W. P. BOOTH. TERMINAL FOR ELECTRIC O0NDUGTORS.-

No. 594,932. Patented Dec. 7, 1897'.

n4: umms mzns on. PMOYO-L wAsmmYoN. n. cy

UNITED STATES arena Ornrcn.

IVILLIAM P. BOOTH, OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THESOUTH BEND TELEPHONE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent no. 594,932, dated December*7, 1897.

Application filed J 16, 1896. Serial No. 616,087. (No model) To all whomit may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM P. BOOTH, a citizen of the United States,residing at South Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Terminalsfor Electrical Conductors, of which the following is specification.

My invention relates to that class of devices used in telephone,telegraph, electriclight, power, signaling or other like systems toprotect the ends of conductors entering the same whether singly orgrouped in the form of a cable.

For the purposes of illustration I have selected that class of devicesused in telegraph and telephone oftices'. In these systems ithas beencustomary to employ terminals merely as a means of shielding the ends ofconductors. The necessary testing arrangements, fuses, and lightningarresters have been placed either on the distributing-board or on theswitchboard. This scatters the testing and protecting devices, causinginconvenience in locating trouble and making repairs. I'Ieretofore theseterminals have been secured to walls or partitions, rendering one oftheir sides useless.

The objects of my improvements are, first, to enable three sides of theterminal-head to be used for connections, the remaining side beingremovable; second, to enable the connections to be reached from allsides of the terminal; third, to provide by one device for theprotection of the cable and a means of supporting the terminal-head andgenerally to make the testing and connecting of either the external oroffice circuits easier and quicker. I attain these objects by themechanisms illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1represents in projection the top part or head of the terminal; Fig. 2, afront View of the bottom part of the terminal, showing the hollowpedestal, which is represented as broken open in two places, the upperbreak showing the union of the cable with the nozzle of the head, thelower showing the cable alone; Fig. 3, a cross-section of head throughline any of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a plan view of the new multiple plug used inconnection with the resilient strips 6 and 7 or angular plates 8 and 9;Fig. 5, a side view of Fig. 4; Fig. 0, a crosssection of Fig. 4: throughthe line I) 20.

References l 1 1 represent the three sides of the cast-iron head H; 2,the removable cover; 3, sheets of insulation secured to two sides of thebox; it, lightning-conductors insulated from the body of the head; 5, ametallic strip connecting the lightning-conductors with the earth; 6 and'7, resilient strips of conducting material; 8 and 9, angular platesconnecting the resilient strips with fuses; 10, fuse-terminals; 11,fuses; 12, metallic rods bushed with insulatin material 13; 1i and 15,cable-wires leading from lead-covered cable 16; 17, a nozzle forming apart of the head through which cable 16 enters the head; 18, a hollowstandard protecting cable; 26, a base on which is mounted the hollowstandard 18; 27, a fastening-flange surmounting the hollow standard 18and adapted to be secured to the bottom of the head; 19,insulatingmatcrial forming the body of multiple contact-plug; 20, raisedportion serving as a guide for same; 21 and 22, conducting-contactsserving to connect 6 and '7 with the usual test instruments at end ofwires 23 23; 2st and 25, wires leading from terminal todistributing-board or switchboard.

In Fig. 1 the resilient strips 6 and '7 are ordinarily in contact withelectrodes 8 and 9.

The wires going to the distributing-board and station instrumentsconnect at 24 and 25.

The resilient strips 6 and 7 operate in pairs if a double or metalliccircuit is used; but in case my terminal is employed in connection withsingle or grounded circuits a single plug having one side of conductingand the other of insulating material may be used to connect with oneside of testing apparatus, the circuit being completed by connection toearth of the other side of said apparatus, or a plug having two sides ofconducting material with their transverse surfaces diametricallyopposite and separated by insulation will serve to introduce into thecircuit the testing apparatus.

he usual method of testing'has been to disconnect the station-wires froma metallic rod similar to 12. (Shown in cross-section in Fig. 3.) Thefrequent disconnection of these conductors is an inconvenience as wellas a damage to the ends of the conductors themselves, but by using plugsin connection with the resilient strips 6 and 7 and plates 8 and 9 theoperation is quickened and much better performed. The circuit continuesthrough the fuse 11 and reaches the cable-wires on the inside of thehead by conductor 12. In case of lightning or other dangerous currentscoming into the circuit the station apparatus is protected bylightning-arrester 4 and cutout 11.

My new multiple contact-plug is used to connect with both sides ofeither the office or external circuits with one insertion, accordinglyas the contacts 21 and 22 are placed to ward or away from 6 and '7. Itis made of insulating material faced with contacts of conductingmaterial. It can be made with plane surfaces, but a better way is toprovide one or more guides, either upon the plug or head, by makingcorresponding projections or depressions upon their respective surfaces.Figs. 4-, 5, and 6 illustrate a good form of construction.

My hollow pedestal 18, 26, and 27 serves the four purposes of enablingthe head to be placed at a convenient distance above the floor, ofplacing it at such a sufficient distance from the wall or partition thatit can be reached from all sides, of being a support for it when soplaced, and of providing a means of securing protection to the cablebefore it enters the head.

The method of usingmy pedestal is to bring the conductors or cablethrough an aperture in the floor, then thread them through the support18 and nozzle 17 into the head, where the conductors are finally joinedto posts 12. After connections are made the pedestal and head are unitedby bolts at fastening-flange 27 and the slack conductors or cable drawntight from below. The base 26 is then screwed fast to the floor. If thepedestal is of proper height, a man of average size without changin gthe position of his body can reach the connections at the top or bottomof the longest terminal-head.

It will be understood that if the terminal is mounted upon a pole orupon the outside wall of a building the floor of a projecting andsustaining platform and the side of the pole or wall to which it isattached are analogous to the floor and wall of office herein mentioned;also, the line wires and cables protected out of doors is a parallelcase to that of cables and switohboards indoors.

Although I have described more or less precise forms and details ofconstruction, I do not intend to be understood as limiting myselfthereto, as I contemplate changes in form, proportion of parts, andsubstitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or renderexpedient without departing from the spirit and scope of my inventionand claims.

I claim 1. I11 combination with a pair of resilient conducting-strips,and electrodes contacted thereby, a plug having multiple contacts ofconducting material mounted on one side of a body of insulating materialand adapted to form a connection between the pair of resilient strips orelectrodes to test either the illcoming or outgoing circuits.

2. In combination with a pair of resilient conducting-strips, a plugconsisting of a body of insulating material having on one side multiplecontacts, and means to guide the plug as it is inserted under orwithdrawn from the said strips.

3. In combination with a system of electrical conductors terminated in ahead, resilient condu cting-strips, electrodes attached to said head andcontacted by the strips and a plug having multiple contacts mounted onone side of a body of insulating material and adapted to be insertedbetween a pair of electrodes or strips to connect the testinginstruments either with the electrodes or strips accordingly as the plugis inserted one way or the other.

4. As a new article of manufacture a plug having multipleconducting-contacts mounted on one side of a body of insulating materialand adapted to be inserted between resilient conducting-strips andelectrodes.

5. As a new article of manufacture a multiple plug said plug consistingon one side of insulating material and on the other of multiple contactsof conducting material and means to guide the plug as it is insertedunder or withdrawn from resilient conductingstrips.

6. A multiple plug consisting of an insulating-body 19, raised portion20 and contacts 21 and 22.

7. In combination with the hollow supporting-pedestal consisting of base26, standard 18, and fastening-flange 27, of the terminalhead II, thenozzle 17 extending therefrom and to which is secured the cable 16.

WILLIAM P. BOOTH.

IVitnesses:

Josnrn TURNOOK, GEO. W. SCHOCK.

